


Lightning Strikes Twice

by ria_green



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack Relationships, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Fix-It, Gen, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Kakashi is reborn into the BNHA-verse, M/M, Rare Pairings, Rebirth, Reincarnation, Shirakumo Oboro Lives, Time Skips, minor dabihawks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28970481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ria_green/pseuds/ria_green
Summary: When Kakashi is five years old, his father is taken down by a vengeful villain. His left eye bleeds into red and black, and Kakashi remembers. Everything.Aizawa Shouta is dismayed to see Hatake Kakashi, former student and overall pain-in-the-ass, join U.A.'s staff as Class 1-A's teaching assistant. How is Aizawa supposed to make it through the year with his sanity intact?Kakashi has joined the U.A. staff with the express goal of seducing his ex-teacher. And also protecting the future generation of heroes from the shadowy forces of villainy, but who cares about that?
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Hatake Kakashi
Comments: 155
Kudos: 863





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ages at time of canon:
> 
> Aizawa: 30  
> Kakashi: 22  
> Midoriya & co: 16
> 
> Ages when Kakashi is a U.A. student:
> 
> Aizawa: 24-26  
> Kakashi: 16-18
> 
> Ages when Aizawa is a U.A. student:
> 
> Aizawa: 16-18  
> Kakashi: 8-10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi, before.

At the age of four, Kakashi Hatake is a gifted child. He can read at a university-level, he has excellent physical coordination, and he is vastly more mature than his peers. 

What he doesn't have is a Quirk.

The average age that children begin to display their Quirks is at four years old. Most of his classmates in his preschool have already exhibited their Quirks - Kakashi is one of only two children who have not.

According to the x-ray his father took him to get a few weeks ago, there's a 99% chance he may never manifest a Quirk.

Kakashi isn't too devastated about it. The majority of Quirks have minimal impact on daily life. There's plenty he can do without a Quirk, and he can already run circles around the ankle-biters in his class who do possess Quirks.

However, he does worry about Miki. As the sole other member of their "Quirkless until proven otherwise" club, Miki had been a quiet but otherwise well-liked member of their class prior to Quirk manifestation. She adjusted poorly to suddenly becoming an outcast like Kakashi and has been crying in the bathroom every other day during their breaks. 

Kakashi has done his research, and he knows that society's treatment of Quirkless people has grown more and more discriminatory as time goes by. That's why he is profoundly unimpressed when two of their classmates decide to corner Miki and him in the restroom. He isn't surprised, but he also isn't going to put up with it.

As a result, Hatake Sakumo is soon called to the principal's office.

Sakumo can feel a migraine coming on when he sees two children with scorched clothing crying to their angry parents, and a bored, completely untouched Kakashi standing at a distance.

The principal says through gritted teeth, "Kakashi somehow engineered a small explosion during break. While no one was injured, he's given quite the fright to these children. This is his first infraction, but it is quite the serious one."

Sakumo resists the urge to face-palm.

He's not at home as often as he would like, due to his frequent patrols and agency work. While his late wife was a clever and strong woman, neither of them were prodigies in the way that Kakashi has proven to be.

Sakumo hadn't allowed him to skip grades because he wanted for Kakashi to socialize with his peers, but he's starting to think that may not have been the best choice.

He crouches down to be eye-level with Kakashi. "Is what your principal saying true?"

Kakashi shrugs. "It is true in that she has only discussed a fraction of the story and is ignoring any facts that don't fit into her perfectly neat worldview."

Sakumo sees the principal turning purple with anger in the corner of his eye, and the other parents are starting to clamor as well, but they aren't his priority. Kakashi is, and will always be, his priority.

"What facts are missing?"

Kakashi recites in monotone, "They cornered us in the bathroom. Ichiro pushed Miki down and called us 'Quirkless losers.' Kentaro was about to burn her with his Quirk."

Kentaro interrupts. "That's not true! I wasn't going to burn her. I was just - playing around."

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "You had a flame in your hand, about two inches away from her face. Forgive us for not 'playing along' with you."

Miki's mother frowns severely at Kentaro and Ichiro's parents. "Is this true? Was your child threatening my Miki with illegal Quirk usage?"

Kentaro's father promptly stops glaring at Kakashi. Good, because Sakumo probably would have poked out his eyes if he continued any longer.

"O-oh, I see. I didn't realize that was what happened. Perhaps we should just let this incident pass - let bygones be bygones."

Miki's mother says coldly, "You weren't so willing to let things go when you thought Kakashi was the instigator instead of your son."

He laughs nervously. "My son has a powerful Quirk; he can't be expected to have full control over it at such a young age. But I'll be sure to give him a good talking-to after this."

"Wait. I'm confused. If this Kentaro is the one with a fire-based Quirk, why did you say Kakashi caused the explosion?" Sakumo asks. "He doesn't even have a Quirk!"

The principal hesitates. "We're aware of that, but they've all testified that the explosion was because of Kakashi."

Kakashi looks away evasively.

"Kakashi..." Sakumo uses the same warning tone he used when he returned home to a disassembled computer that his child was hoping to turn into a police radio.

His son sighs. "Fine. It was me. That idiot didn't even know about dust explosions. You would think someone with a flame Quirk would do some proper research on combustible material."

"So you...?"

Kakashi lifts his left hand. "Dispersed fine particles left over from the wall construction, in an enclosed space." He raises his right hand. "Imbecile with a poorly mastered fire Quirk." He puts his fists together and imitates the sound of an explosion. "Ka-boom."

Sakumo pinches his nose bridge. "We've had this discussion about your science experiments before."

"I calculated the volume of the room and the amount of dust! There was practically no risk of bodily harm!"

"No experiments without supervision," Sakumo says firmly. "Ever."

"Like it would be of any use. Your chemistry knowledge is even worse than mine," Kakashi mumbled under his breath.

The principal clears her throat. "If we could get back to the main topic? Kakashi has admitted that he was the one to cause the explosion. Regarding punishment-"

Miki's mother interjects. "It's evident to me now that Kakashi was defending himself and my daughter. Moreover, there was no physical harm caused by his actions, so I understand he was well within his means for legal self-defense."

She tosses a business card onto the principal's desk. "If the next words out of your mouth aren't, 'regarding the punishment for illegal Quirk usage,' you will have a Quirk discrimination lawsuit on your hands so fast it will make your head spin."

Now that Miki's mother is standing with her arms akimbo, Sakumo remembers where he's seen that pose before. Her face is plastered on billboards all over town as a civil rights attorney at the top law firm in Musutafu.

The principal must know her background too, because her face goes bone-white, and she starts backpedaling like crazy.

In the end, Kakashi gets away with only detention as a punishment, while the bullies are suspended for two weeks.

Sakumo still believes it is important for Kakashi's development to make friends with kids his own age. And it does seem like he's gained a little follower in the form of Miki, who now seems to view him as her hero.

Yet Kakashi obviously needs more intellectual stimulation than what he's been receiving learning the alphabet and how to add and subtract.

"How would you like to take some university courses online?"

Kakashi's eyes light up.

Kakashi is so excited that Sakumo feels guilty for not making the suggestion sooner.

He decides to reduce the frequency of his patrols moving forward. Hero work is important to him, but he only has so many years to be around for Kakashi's childhood.

As it turns out, Kakashi's childhood ends up being shorter than either of them could have ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi and his father will be the only two reincarnations from the Naruto-verse, and only Kakashi will ever get his memories from their past life.
> 
> Please let me know how you found my fic! I'm curious. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi gets his Quirk. And a few other things.

One year later, Kakashi is still Quirkless, and still excelling at life.

At five years old, he's halfway through a bachelor's degree in psychology, and planning to get a dual degree in history as well.

With his father reducing his hero work, and the annoying children at his school giving him a wide berth since the dust explosion incident, his life is going more smoothly than ever.

His father's hero work is important for the public, but at the same time, Kakashi can't help but feel selfishly happy that Sakumo is at home more often.

The White Fang is an up-and-coming hero. His Quirk 'Wolf' is immensely practical for combat, involving heightened senses and the ability to manifest the physical capabilities of a wolf. While he's nowhere near heroes like All Might yet, he's easily on his way to breaking the top forty in the national hero rankings.

Recently, White Fang has disappeared from the local news as Sakumo focuses less on career and more on family.

As he often tells Kakashi: "I'll always have time to concentrate on my job as a hero later, but there's only so many years left where I can still lift you up like this!"

This statement usually cues Sakumo hoisting up a squealing Kakashi by his armpits and tossing him in the air to defy gravity.

(Kakashi will never admit that he enjoys it.)

Sakumo has arranged things at the agency that he is free on weekends to take Kakashi out to have fun.

On this particular Saturday, they've decided to visit a famous street snack alley in a nearby town.

"Tou-san, open your eyes! You need to admit to yourself that red bean ice cream is superior to sesame ice cream," Kakashi argues.

His father disagrees. "Red bean ice cream is too sweet. Sure, I can eat it now, but my metabolism won't be able to handle it in a few years."

"You're barely thirty. Stop talking as if you're about to step into the grave."

"'Barely thirty' - that's unusually kind of you, Kakashi."

Sakumo and Kakashi are cutting through a deserted alleyway on the way to the subway station when they hear crashes and screaming in the distance. 

Sakumo tenses. Off-duty or not, he's always a hero on the inside.

"Son, you need to -" he begins before widening his eyes at a sight behind Kakashi. "Move!"

Sakumo grabs Kakashi into his arms and starts running to the entrance of the alley.

Slung headfirst over his father's shoulders in a firefighter's hold, Kakashi finally gets a visual on what Sakumo was so worried about.

The building next to them is crumbling down. Kakashi and Sakumo are still within the fall radius - they won't make it in time!

But somehow, his father sprints the last meter and manages to throw Kakashi a distance away.

Kakashi lands and rolls like his father has trained him to do. Aside from bruised knees, he's able to stand up immediately.

Coughing at the dust that has settled around him, he calls, "Tou-san?"

There's only silence for a heart-stopping moment. Then, he hears his father weakly answering, "I'm here, Kakashi."

Kakashi rushes towards the sound of Sakumo's voice, only to halt at the sight before him. Surrounded by pieces of the broken building, his father is on the ground with his leg pinned down by a steel rafter.

"There must have been a villain breakout. It's not safe to stay here" His father looks grim but determined. "You need to go."

"I'm not leaving you behind," Kakashi says firmly.

"Think logically!" Sakumo raises his voice in frustration. "You can't do anything for me here!"

"You said there was a villain breakout! I'm not leaving you here alone to be collateral damage while you're incapacitated!" Kakashi tries to lift the steel rafter, but it's useless. He's too weak.

He looks around desperately for other survivors. "Somebody! Anybody! Help!"

There were very few people around in this area to begin with. The individuals nearby are either unconscious or buried under even larger pieces of rubble.

"Tou-san..."

"Go, Kakashi. You're not abandoning me. You're regrouping and finding reinforcements."

Kakashi nods with reluctance. He's about to leave when a mysterious figure appears through the cloud of dust.

"What do we have here? Survivors?" a sibilant voice croons.

Kakashi can make out the strange silhouette: long, flexible claws extend from curled hands. The screeching sound as the claws scrape against the ground adds to the eerie atmosphere.

"...it can't be!" Sakumo whispers.

The figure is completely visible now. Kakashi shudders at the insane smile on the man's face and the blood-splattered claws.

A villain.

"You look so familiar. Now just where have I seen that gray hair before..." The villain taps his chin with a finger, ignoring the cut he scratches onto his own face. "Oh, that's right! It's the noble, upstanding hero - White Fang!"

"Slicer," Sakumo growls.

"You remember me! I would hope you did, considering you put me away FOR SIX YEARS!" Slicer starts out speaking amiably but ends his statement with a crazed shriek.

Then, just like that, the villain wipes away his hideous grimace. "Oops! My therapist did say I needed to work on my anger issues."

Slicer smiles with all his jagged teeth. "I've already killed the first two heroes to the scene, but you're the one I'll really enjoy."

Kakashi knows now that Slicer is unhinged. Slicer is not one of those villains with goals like robbery or power; he's is someone who revels in violent slaughter.

"I'll put you away again, where you can't hurt anyone else," Sakumo vows.

With a grunt of pain, he pulls himself out from under the rafter.

His leg is mangled from the action, but he has no better options. Better to render one leg useless than to stay trapped while Slicer attacks him.

Sakumo has six more years of experience compared to the last time he fought and captured the serial killer, but he also had two other experienced heroes to assist him. Today, he's alone and at half his normal mobility.

At a huge advantage, Slicer has decided to take his time playing around with him like he's a toy. 

Sakumo dodges too slowly, and watches in slow motion as his arm is cut cleanly off at the elbow and falls to the ground.

It's the most agonizing sensation he's ever experienced, but Sakumo strangles his pained shout after a second. He doesn't want to scare Kakashi.

Kakashi has fallen to his knees a few meters away, two hands covering his mouth to prevent a shocked scream from escaping.

His son is too close to their fight for Sakumo's comfort, but it would be useless to tell him to escape now. Slicer would kill Kakashi immediately if he tried to run.

Sakumo must win this fight for Kakashi to stay alive.

"Uh-oh!" Slicer giggles. "Two limbs down, two to go!"

Sakumo's moves get slower and slower. His vision is darkening at the edges. But he can't lose, can't fall. He has to stay awake and alive to protect Kakashi.

"Are you tired already?" Slicer asks, disappointed. "I think you need a wake-up call. Let's see if you've got enough energy to dodge this!"

In a flash, he extends his claws towards Kakashi.

Sakumo isn't fast enough to knock the attack aside. All he can do is grunt as he takes the claws in his back.

The last thing he sees before he falls is Kakashi's horrified face.

"How boring," Slicer tuts. "I thought he would last longer."

Sakumo is slumped over in front of him.

His father is covered in lacerations, and Kakashi can _see_ through the holes in him once Slicer withdraws his claws. The stump of his arm is bleeding copiously, and his leg isn't even in the shape of a leg anymore...

"Tou-san?" Kakashi asks in a trembling voice.

He doesn't answer.

His father isn't moving. 

His father _isn't moving._

And Kakashi...

Kakashi remembers.

_Returning home only to find the blood stains on the tatami mat spreading from father's room._

_The disdainful glares from the villagers. "He looks just like the White Fang. What a disgrace!"_

_Secretly vowing to follow the rules, and to never become a failure like his father._

_Donning a cloth mask at age 6, which he keeps on for the rest of his life. He avoids mirrors now._

_His genin team: Minato-sensei, Obito, Rin. They're annoying, and loud, and in the way. But somehow...he doesn't hate them._

_The dead-last but loyal Obito:_ _“In the ninja world, those who don’t follow the rules are trash. But, those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash.”_

_Obito, crushed under the rock, but somehow still smiling._

_"I'm about to die, but I'll become your eye."_

_A gift, from a dying friend._

_They call him Sharingan Kakashi now._

_Rin, begging him to kill her before she can destroy Konoha._

_The blood that ran down his arm. The look of relief on her face, belying the hole in her chest._

_Kakashi, the friend killer, they call him now._

_He goes cold, even colder than before.  
_

_Then, the Kyuubi attack._

_The last lights in his life - Minato, Kushina, gone._

_He isn't even cold anymore. He's just empty._

_There's no one left except for him._

_Kakashi is alone._

Kakashi opens his eyes.

Slicer approaches him, brandishing his claws.

"Your father's a goner, but I'll send you on first. Do you think he'll wake up one more time to see your corpse? I hope he does."

He places the sharpened claw tips on Kakashi's thin neck, drawing blood.

"Any last words?" Slicer says with a sneer.

"Yes," Kakashi breathes. And he hasn't used this before, only experienced its torturous effects, but somehow he knows the technique will work for him.

His eye bleeds into red and black. " _Sharingan: Tsukuyomi."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about as angsty as the fic gets, don't worry. Things will be better moving forward. Cute, childish Kakashi was nice while it lasted!
> 
> Think of Slicer as a less sexy and more bloodthirsty version of Lust from FMA.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi has a Quirk.

Hatake Sakumo opens his eyes to a white ceiling.

He has a moment of suspended memory until the twinges of pain remind him of what he has forgotten.

"Kakashi!" Sakumo gasps and tries to sit up.

A large hand gently presses him back into the bed.

"Slow down, Sakumo. You really shouldn't be moving around yet." At his bedside is his old friend, Yoroi Musha, the Equipped Hero.

As one of the top ten heroes in Japan, Yoroi has been an invaluable mentor and friend to Sakumo over the years. The Equipped Hero is over fifty years old and has been successfully protecting the citizens of Japan for decades, with no signs of retirement in sight.

"How is Kakashi? Is he safe?" Sakumo asks urgently.

Yoroi doesn't answer at first, and Sakumo pales.

_No..._

"He's fine!" Yoroi says quickly, upon seeing his bloodless face. "Your son is completely unharmed."

Assured of Kakashi's well-being, Sakumo slumps down in relief and finally has the mind to consider himself.

He takes inventory of his physical condition. While the doctors were able to re-attach his arm, his leg is propped up in a sling with several metal pins visible through the bandages. 

He is dosed up on too large a quantity of pain medication to accurately assess of the extent of his injuries, but he wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be career-ending. There's no way he's getting back to 100% condition with the beating he received. Nevertheless, Sakumo feels lucky just to be alive.

"The last thing I remember is that I wasn't able to stop Slicer. Did another hero show up to the scene? Did they defeat him?"

Yoroi has a strange expression on his face. "By the time reinforcements arrived, Slicer was already incapacitated."

The only other person around when Sakumo fell unconscious was Kakashi. Sakumo is intimately familiar with how perverse Slicer is - there's no way he would have spared Kakashi.

"You mean..."

"They believe your son has finally manifested his Quirk. And that it's a powerful one."

"Slicer was 'incapacitated,' you said?" he repeats weakly.

"'Catatonic' might be more accurate," Yoroi corrects wryly. "The police are still working to figure out the ins and outs of the situation. They're in the middle of questioning your son now."

Sakumo struggles to sit up again. "He's a minor - they're not supposed to do that!"

"It's not a formal interrogation; they just want to know what happened."

"Take me to them. Now," Sakumo orders firmly.

Yoroi holds his gaze and seems to realize Sakumo will crawl to Kakashi if he has to.

"Let me go get a nurse."

Detective Kenji Tsuragamae is very confused.

Kakashi Hatake, while by all means a genius, was otherwise reported to be a happy, well-adjusted, Quirkless five-year-old. However, the child described in their files bears little resemblance to the Kakashi sitting in front of them.

All three people were found unconscious next to the collapsed building, and there were no other witnesses to the battle.

Kakashi woke up a few hours after he was brought to the hospital. He was unharmed, aside from bruises and exhaustion.

The surgery to save White Fang's arm and leg was successful, and the doctor predicted that he should be regaining consciousness soon. 

On the other hand, despite Slicer being the least physically injured of the three, the doctors are unsure whether he'll ever "wake up" again in any real sense.

When they shook the villain awake for an interrogation, Slicer screamed like he was being tortured. They couldn't get anything intelligible from him. Healing Quirks had no effect. Ultimately, they resorted to sedating Slicer so that he wouldn't bite his own tongue off.

White Fang has a Transformation Quirk that allows him to take on characteristics of a Wolf, and it's clear that whatever happened to Slicer wasn't caused by a simple physical attack.

As improbable as it may seem, the running theory is that Slicer's condition was induced by Kakashi.

Medical records state that the child was Quirkless. To the contrary, nurses recounted observing his left iris fade from red back to his normal brown seconds after he opened his eyes. If so, he may be part of the miraculous 1% of the population who awakens a Quirk after the age of five.

The different eye color implies a Transformation-type Quirk like his father, but Tsuragamae can't think of any form of Transformation-type Quirk that could have brought Slicer to such a state.

Tsuragamae has no further leads, and the only person who can give him answers hasn't spoken a word since waking up.

The dried tear tracks on his cheeks indicate that Kakashi cried at some point. Now, the child has no expression, and is staring blankly into the distance. Going numb is a common reaction to trauma.

Tsuragamae finally spots some emotion on his face when White Fang bursts into the room in a wheelchair with the help of the Equipped Hero.

"Kakashi!"

Ice cracks and melts, and Kakashi opens his mouth to let out a choked, "Tou-san!"

Tsuragamae allows them to have their touching reunion before lightly clearing his throat.

He gets a glare from the hero in response, which he pretends not to have seen. "White Fang, now that you're here, we would like to ask your son a few questions."

White Fang draws his child to himself protectively. "Kakashi is only five!"

"I understand, and we have no requirements of him. All Kakashi needs to do is answer our questions to the best of his abilities."

"Be honest with me: are you feeling up for this? Would you be willing to tell the police what happened?" White Fang looks searchingly into Kakashi's eyes. "I don't want you to push yourself if you aren't ready."

At Kakashi's nod, White Fang lets out a sigh before smiling reluctantly. "I'm proud of you, son."

He turns to Tsuragamae, and his softness is immediately replaced by the stern expression of a professional hero. "I'll allow it. But if it's too much for Kakashi at any point, we're leaving."

"Very well." Tsuragamae inclines his head. "Let me reiterate that Kakashi is not in any trouble at all. Whatever he may have done to protect himself from Slicer would be considered self-defense. We only want to get a clearer picture of what happened."

Tsuragamae isn't known for his bedside manner, but he tries his best to make his voice soothing and non-confrontational. "Kakashi, can you tell us what happened today?"

The child narrates the events as dispassionately as an officer reeling off a situation report. His words seem to match the bits of surveillance they were able to obtain.

"Tou-san protected me from the attack, and was impaled through the chest with Slicer's claws." Kakashi's voice turns strained for the first time. "He fell down and didn't get up again. Slicer said that he would kill me first, and let my father join afterwards."

Sakumo clenches the arm of his wheelchair so hard that it creaks.

"And then?" Tsuragamae probes gently. Whatever information Kakashi reveals next should be the key to the story.

"I looked at him, and my Quirk appeared," Kakashi answers shortly.

After it's evident that Kakashi isn't going to expand on his statement, Tsuragamae pushes harder. "But what exactly did your Quirk _do_?"

Kakashi glances briefly at his father, who gives him a tremulous but encouraging smile.

Squaring his shoulders, he admits, "It put Slicer in an illusion where he personally experienced the pain he caused to his victims." A beat. "I call it _Tsukuyomi_."

"You were alone with him for a few minutes at most," Tsuragamae says disbelievingly.

He has encountered illusion Quirks before, but none that could wreak such a devastating outcome so quickly. Such effects are more often in-line with strongly influential mental or emotional Quirks.

Kakashi shakes his head, almost amused. "Detective, I didn't need that long. I only held eye contact with him for ten seconds."

This time, Tsuragamae drops his pen in shock. "How is that possible?!"

"My technique is named after Tsukuyomi, the God of Time. One second in the illusion is equivalent to 1 x 1011 seconds in real time." Kakashi pauses. "That means Slicer spent decades in my purgatory."

Tsuragamae doesn't hear any vindictive pleasure in his voice; regardless, it puts him on guard.

As a mutant with a permanent Dog Quirk, he's faced considerable discrimination while climbing up the ranks at his station. Tsuragamae is vehemently opposed to the practice of labeling Quirks as "good" or "bad."

Yet he is unable to deny that a technique like Tsukuyomi would be widely condemned as a villainous Quirk if it were made public.

Moreover, the level of composure Kakashi is displaying in this interview would be unnatural for an adult, let alone a child. It is disconcerting to witness.

Tsuragamae refrains from accusations, but he can't help but start to question. "Your technique..."

"I have a sense of measure, Detective," Kakashi interrupts calmly. "It was the first time I used my Quirk and a far from ideal awakening. It won't happen again."

At the end of the interview, Tsuragamae is still feeling unsettled despite discovering the truth.

From what Kakashi has disclosed, it is unlikely Slicer will ever recover from his psychosis. He'll live out the rest of his life in a mental hospital.

Tsuragamae feels no sympathy for a villain who murdered dozens of people, but he does see the irony in the situation.

It's an ignominious conclusion for the notorious serial killer, brought onto himself by staring into the eyes of a formerly Quirkless child for a span of mere seconds.

Kakashi possesses the potential to become either one of the greatest heroes or greatest villains of their time.

Tsuragamae shudders.

He knows which side he'd rather see the child fall on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to think of who would be in Sakumo's generation of heroes, and I landed on the Equipped Hero (#9 on the JP Hero Charts). No idea what Yoroi's Quirk is, but he's dressed like a samurai, and I thought it was a nice nod to the Naruto fanon assumption that Kakashi is in part descended from samurai.
> 
> By the time canon rolls along, Detective Kenji Tsuragamae has become Chief of Police, and will be dealing with a new generation of murderous hero-to-be children.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi wants to explore his Quirk.

Officially, Kakashi's Quirk is recorded as Sharingan, or "Copy Pinwheel Eyes."

No one knows what the name means except Kakashi, and that's exactly how he likes it. They initially thought that Tsukuyomi was his Quirk, and he had to explain that it was only one component.

His father feels much better about the whole Slicer situation after Kakashi assures him of the non-murderous and/or insanity-inducing applications of his Quirk. 

And his Quirk is all he really has to work with now. His chakra reserves were considered average at best in his previous life, but in his new life Kakashi truly has next to nothing. It seems to be a function of this particular world, because Kakashi hasn't seen anyone else with a chakra system like him.

He has enough rudimentary chakra to make him stronger and more durable than the average person, but he'll probably never be able to recreate any ninjutsu in this body. Sadly, he will have to bid farewell to his old moniker, "Kakashi of the Thousand Jutsus."

Luckily, he still has Obito's Sharingan. Perhaps due to the Kakashi being "born" with the eye in this life, he is able to turn it on and off at will. The Sharingan isn't a chakra-drain like it used to be, utilizing his own energy instead. He can use it in a passive state for up to an hour, and he believes he can eventually increase that duration with practice.

Although there is no chakra in this world, he is able to observe certain Quirk-related energy precursors flowing through the body, which should help him to predict attacks and give insight into people's Quirks. Similar to the previous world, the Sharingan endows him with perfect memory, the ability to copy any skill, and immense clarity of perception.

Casting Genjutsu takes a little more effort, and techniques like Tsukuyomi or Kamui are considerably draining. Using Kamui, it's much easier for him to expel things from his dimensional pocket than to store them for the first time. One usage often knocks him unconscious, and the largest item he's managed to hide away so far is a computer (which his father was not happy to find missing, again).

Overall, while many of his old techniques will have to stay as memories, Kakashi should still prove to be a substantial threat in his new world.

Despite thorough research, he hasn't come across anyone else from his past life, and Sakumo shows no signs of remembering anything. It saddens Kakashi to know that he will never be able to rejoin his old teammates and friends in the Pure Lands, but Kakashi is also grateful that he and his father received a second chance together.

Sakumo recovered better from Slicer's attack than the doctors expected. He will be more than able to lead a normal and even physically active life. However, his newfound limp and weakness in the previously severed arm ensure that he can no longer return to his pro-hero career. Despite his antagonistic first meeting with Detective Kenji Tsuragamae, Sakumo decides to join the police force as a crime consultant. 

Kakashi is secretly relieved that the potential for Sakumo to be pushed off his pedestal and ruined by those who used to admire him was cut off early in this life.

The White Fang retires with accolades for being the hero who sacrificed himself to permanently take down the infamous Slicer. It is universally agreed upon that Kakashi's involvement will be kept confidential.

Before regaining his memories and obtaining a Quirk, Kakashi hadn't been considering heroics as a potential career. He enjoyed learning and had entertained vague ideas of becoming a scientist or researcher in the future. He is still amazed at the breadth of knowledge available in this new world, but after remembering his life as a shinobi, he knows there is only one path he can take.

He had always been a better sword than shield in his previous life, but he would like the opportunity to do better in protecting those he cares about this time around. 

Sakumo mistakenly attributes Kakashi's newfound passion for heroics to the the lingering effects of the villain attack. It leads him to support Kakashi wholeheartedly in the process, so Kakashi doesn't feel the need to correct his misapprehensions. 

His father has been very encouraging about Kakashi's Quirk training, but there's a limit to how much Kakashi can accomplish in home or private facilities.

For example, he's been meaning to test whether he can pull off the Amaterasu technique, creating black flames that supposedly burn as hot as the sun and cannot be extinguished with water or time. He can't exactly experiment with "the fires of hell" in their manicured backyard. 

The perfect opportunity arrives at their doorstep in the form of the Hero Safety Commission.

While Kakashi's involvement in the Slicer case was not disclosed to the public, it clearly wasn't a difficult discovery for this shady government organization.

Their offer practically screams "child soldier training program," and Kakashi is reminded (not fondly) of ROOT. He gets the feeling that if Sakumo weren't an influential former hero, the Hero Commission would snatch Kakashi away, never to be seen in public again until he reached the legal age to become a hero.

His father is similarly wary of the Hero Commission representatives.

"I don't trust them to have your best interests at heart," Sakumo says tactfully, like he's worried about shattering Kakashi's dreams by revealing their government is corrupt and exploitative.

Ha! Like that's some sort of surprise.

"Oh, I don't trust them either!" Kakashi assures. "I'm just planning on using them for their training resources for as long as I can, before they realize I don't plan on becoming their pet hero."

He agrees to enter the program as a conditional candidate as a trial run. He has to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but there are no other restrictions on the contract. He's free to go whenever he wants. He's too valuable a candidate for them to pull any tricks.

Kakashi is curious to meet the other victims the Hero Commission tricked into the program.

As it turns out, Kakashi is one of the first two candidates for the child hero training program.

He enters the program under the codename Hound. The other participant is called Hawks, an apt title given his huge red wings.

Hawks is the same age as Kakashi yet much smaller in frame. Kakashi can see that he hasn't been treated very well by his previous caretakers. 

Unlike Kakashi who is under the protection of the White Fang, Hawks has no one except for the Hero Commission. He lives, sleeps, and trains at the facility. It appears his parents have already transferred their guardianship over to the government. In other words, Hawks doesn't have the option to quit or leave the program, and he knows it.

Hawks is a quiet kid. He is more mature than he should be due to the circumstances, and he possesses a natural instinct to help people along with the ability to accomplish it. There is no doubt that Hawks will make an amazing hero, but Kakashi would have liked for him to have the choice.

Hawks is surrounded by adults who only see him as a tool. Kakashi may be the only peer Hawks will be able to interact with for the indeterminable future, unless the Hero Commission manages to abduct/swindle/purchase another child into the program.

If Kakashi leaves the program in a year like he originally planned to, Hawks will be left with no allies and no support. Isolated, he'll grow up thinking his life of deprivation is normal.

Kakashi is no paragon of mental health himself (very few shinobi who made it to jounin were), but he thinks he can help Hawks make it to adulthood with one or two fewer neuroses.

Kakashi decides: he is sticking it out for long as he can in this ROOT 2.0 program. It'll be like training Tenzou to be human all over again. Fun!

"Change of plans - you're mine now," Kakashi announces. 

"I'm what?" Hawks looks adorably confused.

They are allowed a mere ten minutes as a training break, and time is almost up. (Depressingly, Kakashi suspects the break is even only that long on the days that he's present, and the Commission is forced to remember that child labor laws exist.)

Kakashi doesn't have long to explain, so he just declares, "You're my person now. Part of my pack - or flock, if we're continuing with the animal metaphors."

Hawks brightens. "Does that mean we are friends?"

He's so pure! Kakashi is resisting the urge to burn down the government facility, assassinate the more egregious Commission members, and kidnap Hawks home. Baby steps, baby steps.

Kakashi clarifies, "That means I would die and kill for you, but sure. 'Friends' works too." 

Hawks seems to suffer from selective hearing. He says with widened eyes, " _Best_ friends?"

Kakashi holds up his pinky. He waits for Hawks to hook it with his own pinky, and then shakes it solemnly.

"Best friends," he vows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tons of questions in the comments about the ins-and-outs of Kakashi's Quirk; hopefully this chapter clears some of that up.
> 
> I've written EndHawks, ShigaHawks, and now I'm finally going to write my favorite DabiHawks!
> 
> If Hawks doesn't seem like his canon adult self yet - just wait. Kakashi will corrupt the hell out of him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi enjoys his second childhood.

Kakashi ends up adopting a schedule where he attends elementary school twice a week and spends the rest of time in a home-schooling/training environment.

Being stuck in a classroom for five days a week learning about the basic concepts of math and reading was mind-numbingly tedious as a genius child. As someone with over thirty years of memories shoved into his mind, it would have been downright torture.

He occasionally drops in to check on Miki, as well as to assert his dominance over the class and scare them into being good people.

Sakumo prevented Kakashi from skipping grades all the way to college because he wanted him to have a childhood and make friends, both of which have been somewhat accomplished.

Compared to the horror-show that was his childhood before, his childhood now is a dream come true. It turns out that not having a disgraced father commit suicide at age six is doing wonders for his mental stability. Kakashi makes a token effort to continue brooding, but his father is so doting that his dark moods can't really last.

Additionally, Kakashi has a grand total of two friends now in Miki and Hawks, and he feels quite satisfied with that amount. They may be much younger than him mentally, but Hawks is mature for his age, and Miki is a sweetheart.

Or at least, a sweetheart by Kakashi's definition. The general populace would probably define her as "menace" now instead.

She's taken swimmingly to Kakashi's self-defense and self-esteem lessons, and has most recently suplexed a classmate who tried to push her around for being Quirkless. She didn't even get in much trouble over it, since their principal is still wary of a lawsuit from her mother.

(Kakashi wipes away a figurative tear. They grow up so fast!)

Once Miki discovered Kakashi's newfound direction in life, she set her goal to joining him at U.A. in the support department.

"I'll design a cool-looking mask for you! Way better than that medical mask you started wearing for no good reason."

"I'm afraid of germs," Kakashi says blandly.

"You've never even been out sick," she points out. 

Kakashi thinks for a moment, and tries again. "I'm hiding my hideous facial birthmark."

Miki says with confusion, "Kakashi, I know what you look like. You're the prettiest person in our class."

Oops, he forgot about that.

He wore a mask in his last life because he didn't want to be reminded of his father, which isn't a reason any longer. He's been wearing it recently out of habit, but he's also not as determined to cover his face as he used to be, and his classmates have all already seen his appearance.

"Kentaro is always asking where you are," Miki says knowingly, and Kakashi shudders.

Ugh, puppy love. That's one good reason to wear his mask. He is not looking forward to puberty.

He's also getting used to having access to both eyes again. It helps that in this life, he never had to keep his Sharingan eye constantly covered to avoid chakra drain. 

Kakashi briefly contemplates recreating his slanted Konoha headband look. He ultimately decides against it because it seems more tactically sound to not have an extra step of uncovering his Sharingan in battle. 

(It has nothing at all to do with the fact that the one time he tries wearing an eyepatch, it sparks a trend in his elementary school. His classmates, having adopted the look as a fashion statement, wander around bumping into things for a week before the teacher gets involved.

Kakashi is relatively shameless, but even he doesn't want to match with a bunch of snot-nosed brats.)

The days pass by peacefully, as Kakashi continues to train, assists Miki in becoming the queen of her class while avoiding the lovestruck Kentaro, collects blackmail against the Hero Commission as leverage, teaches Hawks the joy of rebellion during their trainings, and safeguards his neighborhood. 

Kakashi handles a few small incidents over the years, but it isn't until he turns nine that he encounters a major incident. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is Aizawa's first appearance!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi meets Aizawa and Shirakumo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Vigilantes: BNHA chapter 63.

Kakashi is patrolling Tasomiya Ward when the incident occurs.

Tasomiya is a distance away from his home, but thanks to the neighborhood watch patrol he initiated and "polite" warnings he's released to small-time criminals through his information network, the wards nearer to him haven't had much trouble recently. As a result, Kakashi has been venturing further and further out lately. 

Funnily enough, no law has been passed that makes it illegal to do vigilante work without a Quirk. With a Quirk, sure - but there's no law against Kakashi coincidentally passing by a burglary and coincidentally tripping muggers into slamming their faces into brick walls. Repeatedly. 

Judging by Detective Tsuragamae's look of exasperation every time Kakashi shows up at the station, they may be pushing through an amendment to that law any day now. 

Honestly, he should be thanking Kakashi. Crime incidences in the places Kakashi frequents have dropped by over 15% since he started, and Kakashi is much better at paperwork than the more arrogant, impetuous newbie pro heroes. 

However, not every day involves a dramatic rescue on Kakashi's part. Most of the time, there are only minor issues when he goes out to patrol. Often, the most exciting thing he does is help a grandma carry her groceries home or fish stray cats out of trees. 

Today looks like another calm day. It's peaceful enough that Kakashi spots two trainee heroes helping children from a local daycare cross the street. 

Kakashi may not be the biggest fan of the glitz and glamour of the professional hero industry, but most of the student heroes usually haven't gotten the chance to be dyed dark yet by the corrupting fame and power of the industry. 

The two trainees are likely from the nearby U.A. In fact, he recognizes both from last year's U.A. Sports Festival. 

Shirakumo Oboro, the blue-haired boy with the ability to generate clouds, performed reasonably well before bowing out early due to a clumsy mistake. His cheerfulness and goggles reminded Kakashi of another loudmouthed idiot he once knew. 

Meanwhile, Aizawa Shouta made it to the semi-finals. The dark-haired teen from the General Department possessed some sort of visual-based Erasure Quirk. For the first few rounds, he encountered classmates with Quirks he could disable and then take down in their surprise and failure to adapt. His last round was an unfortunate match-up with someone with a mutant Quirk that gave them super-speed. 

Kakashi remembers being especially impressed with Aizawa. The boy was basically going up Quirkless against his opponents. His hand-to-hand was scrappy and unpolished but leagues better than most of the idiots out there who only knew how to use their Quirks and were helpless otherwise. 

He's glad that the judges weren't completely blind - U.A. must have promoted Aizawa from the General Department to the Hero Department upon seeing the results of the festival. 

Kakashi nods to them as he passes by. 

"Hey, kid! It's a weekday. Shouldn't you be in school?" Shirakumo calls. 

"I already graduated," Kakashi says, deadpan.

It's technically true, since he's collected multiple degrees at this point. If it weren't the fact that attending a high school like U.A. was the quickest way to obtain a professional hero license, he would be completely done with compulsory education - and good riddance. 

Aizawa looks skeptical. "I didn't realize kids these days had started skipping class this early on."

"You would too if you had to re-learn basic geometry," Kakashi mutters under his breath before chirping, "Don't be too nosy about things that aren't your business, future hero to be! You'll get stress lines early."

"What a brat," he hears a disgruntled Aizawa say as he walks away. "This is why I could never teach children."

Kakashi is examining the sky and musing on how it seems like it's about to rain, when the two trainees come running back the alleyway. 

"We need to evacuate! There's a villain coming this way," Aizawa tells Kakashi and the nursery teacher. 

The warning comes too late. 

The villain Garvey is already here. His Quirk is Stock, but Kakashi doesn't remember him being over two stories tall. 

This may be a bit of a problem. 

He's combing through potential battle plans in his mind when the concrete chunks start falling from nearby buildings due to the villain's attacks. 

A particularly large chunk is headed straight towards the teacher and her students. 

Luckily, the nearby Shirakumo has long-range ability and conjures a cloud to divert the falling wreckage. 

Or not so lucky, since it seems Shirakumo has entirely neglected his own safety in protecting others. 

Kakashi makes the calculations in a matter of milliseconds.

He uses the limited chakra in his body to put on a spurt of speed to reach Shirakumo's side and pushes Shirakumo towards the wall behind them. Kakashi has the time to see Shirakumo's face turn from terrified but determined to horrified upon his arrival. 

He hears Aizawa's anguished cry of, "Shirakumo!"

But Kakashi doesn't have time to worry about other people right now.

Staring up at the rock that is about to crush them, Kakashi shouts, " _Kamui!_ " 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tasemiya Ward, from Aizawa's perspective.
> 
> Some dialogue taken directly from Vigilantes.

"You could do just about anything if you put your mind to it!" Shirakumo says to Aizawa as they walk away from the street corner.

"Anything? Like run a daycare? Or become a teacher?"

"Yep, exactly." Shirakumo shoots two finger guns at him. 

Aizawa shakes his head dismissively. "Try thinking before you speak."

"I'm serious!"

Shirakumo is delusional - Aizawa is possibly the least suited person on this earth to become a teacher.

The brief but aggravating encounter with that precocious silver-haired brat just proved his point. 

Aizawa is about to argue exactly that, when his phone rings. 

"Huh, it's Kayama." He picks up the phone, only to hear her panicked voice. "Aizawa! Start evacuating the area, now! We've got a nasty villain wrecking the neighborhood."

Shirakumo and Aizawa look at each other and blurt out at the same time, "The kids!"

They run back around the corner. Aizawa is relieved to see both the daycare class and the silver-haired elementary school student still there. 

He informs them of the situation, and they start to evacuate. 

Unfortunately, they aren't fast enough. The villain Garvey is soon upon them. 

Aizawa is relieved to see the Purple Highness arrive, but the pro is no match for the bevy of Quirk attacks Garvey has stored in his body. 

Purple Highness is thrown into a nearby wall. He doesn't get back up again. 

Garvey's attack also causes debris from the building to rain from the sky. 

Aizawa doesn't react quickly enough. He sees a large chunk of concrete about to crush the daycare teacher and her students. Shirakumo stops it with a cloud, but - 

"Shirakumo!" Aizawa cries, as a pile of debris drops where Shirakumo was standing. He could have sworn he also saw a flash of silver before the rubble fell too. "No! Shirakumo! No way!"

His mentor is unconscious. Shirakumo is trapped somewhere under the rocks. Aizawa is the only one left standing. 

He's about to send himself into a tailspin with all the considerations of how to fight Garvey when he hears Shirakumo's voice come from the radio. 

"You got this, Aizawa!" says the staticky device. 

That's right. This isn't the time to hesitate. 

He tries strategy one - delaying his use of Erasure until the moment that Garvey's lumps activate their Quirks. Unfortunately, the attacks still cause damage to things nearby, such as the daycare class he needs to protect.

Strategy two, then - lure the villain into overhead attacks. 

It seems to be working, but Aizawa is quickly knocked to the ground again. There's no way to deal with the villain's huge body. 

He doesn't know what to do.

"You can do it, Shota! You're the only one who can protect everyone. You're strong, you won't lose!" Oboro exhorts from the radio. 

Aizawa is knocked down again and again, but with Shirakumo's warm encouragement, he's able to get back up every time. 

Finally, he succeeds by using his scarf to swing Garvey's lumps into his own mouth, forcing him to self-detonate. 

"I did it!" Aizawa says from where he's now lying exhausted on the ground. "Shirakumo, I did it!"

The ambulances, rescuers, and other trainees arrive shortly afterwards. 

"It's hard to believe that one trainee took that thing down on his own," a pro hero receiving medical treatment comments. 

"Nah, it was a team effort. My partner was cheering me on the whole time. Right, Shirakumo?" Aizawa addresses the radio speaker.

There's nothing but static as a response. 

For some reason, Aizawa has a bad feeling. 

"How are his wounds looking, Kayama?" he asks. 

Her back looks lonely in the rain. She doesn't respond. 

"That bad? Really? Let's get him to the hospital, quick." Aizawa says to Yamada who is picking up Shirakumo's speaker, "Ah, see that speaker, Yamada? That's Shirakumo's. We better take it with us."

Sensoji examines the speaker. "Huh? This thing's totally busted."

Aizawa feels a chill run down his spine. "That can't be. The whole time, Shirakumo was - "

"You're saying you heard him cheer you on to the end? Nah, you couldn't have. You were just giving yourself a pep talk and imagined it was coming from the speaker." Sensoji says, not unsympathetically. "They say that can happen when it's do-or-die."

"No way," Aizawa denies. "His voice kept me going..."

His voice trails off as he sees the rescuers carry out a body covered in a tarp. 

"Most of the fatalities weren't even from direct hits, but from the collateral damage Garvey caused," Kayama says quietly. 

"Ah," Sensoji says with realization, "so Shirakumo..."

The tarp slips, revealing an unfamiliar arm. 

"It's not him," Aizawa says. "That's not Shirakumo!"

"The last place you saw him was where the rubble was coming down, right?" Yamada asks. He sounds like he already knows the answer. 

Aizawa shakes his head in denial. "No, Shirakumo is fine. They just haven't dug him out yet! He must be under there somewhere."

Kayama puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Aizawa..."

"Survivors! We've found survivors!" a rescuer shouts. 

Aizawa pulls away from Kayama and starts running towards the rescuer. An officer tries to stop him from going into the roped away area, but Aizawa easily ducks past him. 

He sees familiar blue hair and nearly collapses to his knees in relief. 

It seems Shirakumo doesn't have any major injuries, but Aizawa has never seen him so agitated and anxious before. 

He's gesturing over a small, limp body. It can't be any of the preschool students; Aizawa is sure all of them were accounted for.

Shirakumo shifts slightly, and Aizawa is able to see clearly who is lying on the stretcher.

Silver hair. It's the brat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am delighted to see that I am no longer the only Aizawa/Kakashi fic out there now. Drag more people into this crack pairing pit!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shirakumo's perspective.

Shirakumo has a moment of realization: _Ah, I'm going to die here._

There's no reel of memories that plays through his mind before the end, or sudden epiphanies. 

He feels scared ( _I don't want to die_ ), sad ( _they're going to have to tell my parents_ ), and resigned ( _there's nothing I can do to stop this from happening_ ). 

_At least I saved those daycare kids and their sensei,_ he thinks. 

Then, he's shoved backwards by the silver-haired boy that he and Aizawa met before. 

His resigned acceptance quickly transforms into horror. 

The prospect of dying is scary, but what's scarier is the prospect of someone dying because of you. 

But neither of them die in the end.

" _Kamui!_ " the boy shouts.

And a dozen bundles of steel rebar appear out of nowhere. 

The chunk of concrete that was about to smash their heads hits the rebar with a screech. 

In retrospect, Shirakumo understands why the boy shoved them backwards to the wall. The rubble of the building meets the wall at just the right angle so that the two of them have some breathing room and aren't crushed. 

But judging by the subsequent thuds on top of the piece of debris, they won't be getting out on their own any time soon. 

The space is cramped and dark, but Shirakumo is just grateful to be alive.

"Are you alright?" the boy asks. 

"I'm fine, aside from a couple of bumps." Oboro says wonderingly, "You saved me." 

The boy grunts. "Eh. You two U.A. students were annoying, but not 'let them die' levels of annoying."

"How about you - are you okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Shirakumo lets out a sigh of relief. He would have felt really guilty if the boy had gotten hurt trying to save him. 

"What's your name?" he asks. 

"Hatake Kakashi. And you're Shirakumo Oboro, right?"

"That's right! How did you know?"

"I saw you and Eraserhead in the Sports Festival." He pauses. "You need to work on your situational awareness."

"Haha, yeah. Aizawa always says that if I keep my head in the clouds all the time, I'm going to lose it some day." 

"Do better. I'm not going to be there to pull you out of danger every time," Kakashi admonishes.

It's strange, because Kakashi can't be older than ten years old, but he sounds just like an exasperated teacher. 

Shirakumo is glad it's dark so that Kakashi can't see him flush. It _is_ pretty embarrassing that a hero trainee was saved by the civilian he was trying to rescue. But just how did Kakashi rescue him? 

"How did you do it?" he asks with curiosity. "Do you have a metal creation Quirk?"

"Not quite. I have a dimensional pocket in my eye." 

That...is one of the more unusual Quirk descriptions Shirakumo has heard. 

"I knew those steel bars would come in handy. And to think my tou-san was arguing with me about whether I needed them - 'when's the next time you'll encounter a collapsing building?' he said. Shows what he knows."

"Uh, is this not your first time almost being crushed by concrete?"

"It's my third," Kakashi says with resignation.

Damn, what kind of life has this kid been living? Has he been purposely throwing himself into dangerous situations or something?

"Are you aiming to be a hero? A dimensional pocket isn't an obvious offense Quirk, but I think you could get creative with it."

"I am. I'll be attending U.A. in six years."

"Confident, are you?" Shirakumo teases. 

"Well, seeing as how I just rescued one of U.A.'s finest..." he trails off suggestively. 

"Okay, okay, I got it. Aizawa's right, you are kind of a brat. How old are you anyway?"

"I'm nine." 

"So you're in fourth grade? Why were you skipping class today?"

Kakashi huffs, like he's heard this line of inquiry over a dozen times before. "I wasn't kidding when I said I graduated. I've already gotten three degrees."

"Whoa, seriously? Are you some kind of prodigy?"

"Yes," Kakashi deadpans. 

"Six more years, huh? Aizawa and I will have long since graduated by the time you enter U.A." Shirakumo jokes, "Who knows? Maybe you'll have Aizawa-sensei as your teacher."

"Perhaps. I do get the feeling he's better suited to the profession than he thinks."

They continue chatting in the dark, but Kakashi's responses become shorter and shorter.

"Kakashi?" Shirakumo tries, when Kakashi fails to make fun of one of his more egregious knock-knock jokes. 

"Ah. I'm sorry, Shirakumo. I didn't tell you the full truth." Kakashi says in a strained voice. "I thought they would find us sooner."

Shirakumo says seriously, "What's going on, Kakashi?"

"I normally don't eject that large a volume of items from my pocket. It takes a lot out of me. Also, there were some glass shards from the building's windows, and I - may have gotten cut."

"You got cut?" Shirakumo raises his voice. 

"I calculated the trajectory with the least amount of potential damage to the two of us, okay? I didn't think the glass would cut as deeply as it did," Kakashi says grumpily. 

Shirakumo would think it was cute if he wasn't so upset right now. 

"You - how badly are you injured?"

"I'm going to need you to take over applying pressure to my wound in a few minutes. I may or may not be passing out at any moment now," Kakashi says.

He is far too calm for someone suffering from severe blood loss. 

"You - this is the type of information you tell people in advance, alright?" Shirakumo fumbles to find Kakashi's hands. They're pressed against a large gash in his abdomen. 

Shirakumo replaces Kakashi, and applies pressure to the wound. He can feel the warm blood seeping through his fingers. 

Shirakumo tries to keep Kakashi awake by chatting with him, but the pauses between his responses get longer and longer. 

At some point, he becomes delirious from the blood loss. 

"Obito?" Kakashi says groggily. "Did I save you this time?"

"My name's Oboro, Kakashi," Shirakumo says patiently. "Stay with me, okay?"

"I'm here. You - you're the one who didn't stay. I've always been here. You guys are the ones who left."

"That's not true. I'm right here, aren't I?"

This paradox seems to confuse Kakashi. "You are. You're alive. You and your stupid goggles. Deadlast. Crybaby. Loudmouth."

Delirious Kakashi is _mean._

"That's not very nice of you to say. I happen to think my goggles are both fashionable and functional. I lent a pair to Aizawa," Shirakumo says, masking his worry with good humor. 

Kakashi considers this, and says softly, "Sorry. I'll be nice. Don't leave, okay?"

Shirakumo is trying very hard right now not to shed tears from frustration. It would just prove Kakashi's point about being a crybaby. 

He doesn't know what to do.

Kakashi is clearly in no state to use his Quirk to get them out of this mess. Shirakumo knows he doesn't have enough power to lift however many tons of rocks are above them, and he's afraid that he'll cause the rest of the rubble to come crashing down on them if he makes a wrong move. 

The only thing they can do is wait for rescue. 

The sounds of fighting calmed down a while ago, which assures Shirakumo that Aizawa and the other heroes must have somehow won against the villain. 

But it's already been twenty minutes, and Kakashi doesn't have much time left. 

If only Shirakumo still had his speaker on him. It fell off of his belt at some point during the battle. 

Well, Kakashi and Aizawa have both said that he was a loudmouth. He might not reach Yamada's levels of volume, but he can try. 

He takes a deep breath. 

"HELP! Is anyone there? Help!"

Muffled silence. 

"Help! Anyone! We're down here!"

He tries again and again. Past the point when Kakashi stops responding, until his voice has gone hoarse.

He doesn't give up. 

The crack of light that breaks through the darkness when they're finally found is the most beautiful thing Shirakumo has ever witnessed. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of Tasomiya Ward Attack.

The first thing Kakashi hears upon waking up is his father saying, "You are so grounded."

"Tou-san," he says.

He's lying in a hospital bed, with an IV hooked up to his arm. He feels dizzy and lethargic, but it's no worse than the (numerous) occasions in which he used to pass out from chakra exhaustion. 

"Until you're thirty, Kakashi," Sakumo continues. "You almost went into hypovolemic shock! The only reason I found out you were injured at all was because the folks at the police department recognized you by your hair."

"I'll carry an ID card with me next time," Kakashi vows.

"No, no next time! You didn't think you were subtle with your neighborhood patrols, did you? It was okay when it was just petty thieves and kittens stuck in trees, but this is too far."

"I'm going to be facing situations like this eventually when I become a hero," Kakashi tries to persuade. 

"Yeah, when you become a hero. Which is six years from now, plus three years of U.A. training, and maybe a year or two of working as a sidekick. Not now, when you're nine years old."

"But..."

"Nope, you're not budging me on this one," Sakumo says. "You scared the hell out of me, Kakashi."

Noticing the strain on his father's face, Kakashi relents. "I'm sorry for worrying you. What happened after I passed out?"

"One of the trainee heroes - Eraserhead - managed to take down Jarvey on his own. There were a couple of casualties, but only two fatalities."

Kakashi is surprised. "On his own? Aizawa must have improved a lot since the Sports Festival."

His father concedes, "He's going to be a great hero one day. I would have pegged him as more of a support or ambush than a main tank, but he did what he needed to do, when it came down to it."

"What about Shirakumo?"

"He's fine, thanks to you."

Kakashi sighs in relief. "See? Didn't I tell you those steel bars would come in handy?"

Sakumo throws his hands up in exasperation. "Maybe if you didn't run around looking for trouble, you wouldn't encounter a collapsing building more than once in your life!"

"Maybe I should commission a giant bubble once I get to U.A. from the Support Department," Kakashi muses. 

"You treat your dimensional pocket like some sort of depot," Sakumo grumbles. "I've lost track of the random things you've stuffed in there."

"I'm still experimenting with storing complex living beings. No luck yet, but I think corpses are a go!"

"...I'm starting to understand why Detective Tsuragamae worries so much about you."

"Don't worry, tou-san," Kakashi says cheerfully. "At worst, I'll become a vigilante. Or maybe a double agent." 

"Let's stick to heroics, if we can. Save me a few white hairs," Sakumo jokes. 

Kakashi wants to know, "When will I be discharged?"

"You are not resuming training as soon as you get out of the hospital," his father immediately replies. 

"But, but - Hawks!" Kakashi protests.

"I've already informed him you'll be taking a break. He sends you his best wishes, but those Commission people won't let him leave the facility to come visit you."

"I need to improve my stamina. Ejecting the rebar took way too much out of me," Kakashi says with determination.

"You've already improved so much. When you first started, you would have been knocked unconscious from storing an apple," Sakumo says encouragingly. 

Kakashi shakes his head. "It's not enough."

He's still too weak. Kakashi knew he wouldn't be able to reach the strength of his previous life, but he was taken out much too easily by the villain this time. 

Sakumo sighs. "I won't argue about this with you anymore. I just hope you stay within your limits."

"I won't know my limits until I reach them," Kakashi counters.

"I agree, but you're not testing your limits in real combat situations anymore. Stick to the training room until you get to U.A."

"Fine!" Kakashi leans back into his pillow with an annoyed huff. He'll just have to put more efforts into his digital information gathering activities instead from now on.

"By the way, the trainees wanted to come by and thank you." 

"Ah, are they still in the hospital?"

"They were discharged almost immediately, but they've been waiting anxiously for you to wake up for the past few hours. Are you open to them visiting?"

Kakashi assents, and Sakumo leaves the room. He comes back with the two teenagers.

Shirakumo immediately brightens when he sees him. "Kakashi! I'm so glad you're alright!"

He bops Kakashi lightly on the head. "Hmph! That's for not telling me you were bleeding out until it was almost too late."

Kakashi considers arguing that it wouldn't have done any good when they were both stuck waiting anyway, but decides not to at Sakumo's warning glare. 

He changes the subject. "I won't do it next time. By the way, congratulations, Aizawa. I heard it was quite the takedown on your part."

"I was lucky. Things could have gone really badly if it weren't for you, Kakashi." Aizawa bows slightly. "Thank you for saving my friend."

Shirakumo looks flustered. 

Kakashi feels the same way. For all that he exudes self-confidence, he's not actually used to sincere praise and thanks. He clears his throat. "Well, I wasn't much help afterwards. I really need to work on exercising my Quirk. I was useless after one usage of Kamui."

Aizawa nods. "I think this incident showed me how much further I have to go as well." He turns around and pinches Shirakumo's ear. "And you! What did I say about paying attention to your surroundings!"

Kakashi laughs. "I said the same thing. He has zero situational awareness."

Pouting, Shirakumo complains, "Okay, now you guys are just ganging up on me."

"We wouldn't be, if you hadn't gotten saved by a nine-year-old," Aizawa deadpans. 

"Oh come on!" Shirakumo groans. "Kakashi's different. If all nine-year-old kids were like him, pro heroes would be out of business."

"Are you aiming to become a hero?" Aizawa asks Kakashi. 

"Not aiming. I _will_ be a hero," Kakashi says confidently. 

Aizawa doesn't show any of the skepticism from their first meeting. "I'm sure you can do it."

"Maybe I'll see you at U.A. one day, Aizawa-sensei?" Kakashi says teasingly. 

Aizawa snorts. "Not likely."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dabi will appear very soon!


End file.
